


Hawkmoth's Reclaim

by Dark_Angel23



Series: Hawkmoth [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Akuma Attack, Alternate Timelines, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Crossover, Gen, Original Akuma, Paris (City), References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Sphinxes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26509414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Angel23/pseuds/Dark_Angel23
Summary: Sequel to Hawkmoth's Challenge.Can be read as a standalone, but it is better if you read that first.Seven years have passed. After the Battle where they lost Samairah, Marinette and Adrien had cut all ties from their old lives and started a new one together.But the nagging thought was still there.Hawkmoth hadn't been defeated, and he had the Thunderbird miraculous.Though he had not attacked Paris since then, Ladybug and Chat Noir didn't think that the danger was gone. It was still very much there, lying in wait.And now, when Marinette and Adrien are going to America for the New York Fashion week, attacks are happening on the city that have a close resemblance to the ones that happened In Paris years ago.Will Marinette and Adrien be able to go to the bottom of this mystery themselves, or will they need the help of some old friends?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean
Series: Hawkmoth [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927393
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Arrival at New York

“Adrien! Come on! The plane leaves in two hours and we need to be at the airport by then!” Marinette’s voice rang out in two directions at once, down the living room and the stairwell, as she was standing in the doorway of their apartment.

Adrien groaned as he tugged on his boots.  
_I should have opened the laces first._  
“Coming!” He yelled back, just as the opening slipped over his heel. Tightening the laces just a bit more, Adrien stood up and glanced at himself in the mirror. Their flight to New York will be a good eight hours long, and he needed some comfortable clothes. He had decided on a classic black t-shirt paired with a pair of jeans, and added a blue jean jacket. Running a hand through his hair one last time, he picked up his backpack from the settee. He swung it over his shoulder, and made his way out of their apartment.  
“Do you have the keys?” Marinette asked as she saw him coming out of the house. He nodded wordlessly, and handed her the apartment keys. “Thanks.” She locked the door and started down the stairs. Their suitcases were already in the taxi that they will be taking to the airport.

Marinette’s mind was preoccupied with something she was sure would happen during her time in New York. Hawkmoth.  
Or also known as Gabriel Agreste, Adrien’s dad. When Ladybug and Chat Noir had realised who really he was, Adrien was so disgusted that he decided to run away. During their final fight, all their identities had been revealed, including Galaxy’s. And then she died ten minutes later. Ladybug had tried to secure the miraculous, but it had fallen into Hawkmoth’s hands. And now Gabriel had the most powerful miraculous in the world. Marinette was sure that they would encounter him in New York. They were going for the Fashion week after all, and Gabriel’s company was still the best in Paris, though Marinette’s was a close second.  
Marinette opened her mouth to ask Adrien if he had recently talked to his father, but she was beat by a voice that came from somewhere near her waistline.  
“Hey Adrien, did you pack enough cheese?” Plagg asked, poking his head out of the long trench coat she was wearing. She had it custom made, so that their kwamis could sit in there comfortably. Adrien frowned at him and said that he had, but whether it was enough or not would depend on Plagg himself. Plagg snorted and ducked back into her pocket, and Marinette chuckled. From the tiny voice that escaped from the other pocket, it seemed like Tikki had too.  
A small clunking sound echoed through the stairwell, and Marinette felt the kwamis freeze in her pocket. The person came into their line of sight, and they noticed that it was just Mrs. Charpentier, their neighbour who lived three floors below them. “Oh! It’s the 15th already?” She asked, blinking at them. Adrien smiled. “Yes Mrs. Charpentier. You will keep an eye on our apartment, right?”  
“Of course. Anything for you sweeties.” She said, and with one last smile, she hobbled to her own flat. Marinette and Adrien continued down the stairs.  


* * *

“Ugh! My legs are asleep!” Adrien groaned as he stepped off the airplane. The polluted New York air hit him right in the face, but he was used to it. Beside him Marinette strode off, looking no worse for the long flight. Adrien frowned at her.  
What the hell?  
But Adrien knew that being the owner of a famous fashion company made her work long hours, and an eight hour seating was nothing to her. Even though Adrien was her partner (Both in her professional and personal lives), he certainly wasn’t used to it. He was a model for gods’ sake!  
After finishing the necessary things they had to do before entering the city, they stepped out of the airport, and hailed a cab.  
And then the thought that had been swirling in his head from the past two days came back again.  
The demigods.  
Though it had been seven years since they had met face-to face, and three since they had last conversed, Adrien still hadn’t forgotten them. After the final battle, both him and Marinette had made huge changes in their lives, and that included not talking to anyone from their past lives, including them.  
But that wasn’t enough to make Adrien hope that they wouldn’t meet them again.  
He wanted to.  
He didn’t say anything to Marinette, because it was one of the unspoken rules. But he felt that Mari was thinking about the same thing.  
Adrien pushed the thought out of head, and began to admire the skyscrapers as they whizzed by. He had always wanted to visit New York. He had actually, once, when he was very small. He didn’t remember it much. And then his father got busy, and he never got time again.  
And then his mother’s death.  
Gabriel was never a people person, and Emily was the only person keeping the family together. And then, after her death, Gabriel drifted further away, never having time for Adrien anymore. At first, he hoped that Natalie would provide him solace, but he quickly learnt that she was a very professional person, no matter the fact that she practically lived with them. She couldn’t do anything, and neither would she want to.  
Those were the worst months of his life.  
And then the spark came again, in the form of Master Fu who gave him the Black Cat miraculous.  
He had a purpose in life now. Something that would help him get over whatever was happening in his house.  
And then, as a cherry on the top, his father allowed him to go to school. There he met people of his age, people who liked him for who he was and not because of his father.  
(Well there was Chloe, but we don’t talk about her)  
Then he met Ladybug, and fell in love with her and then she turned out to be one of his best friends.  
When he found out, he was in a shock for a few days.  
Marinette ‘just a friend’ Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug?  
Adrien then realised he had gone off track, and he probably should be thinking about how to find them again. He had been researching weird areas in New York, and some suspicious events that had happened almost a decade ago, but he still wasn’t sure how to find them. He looked outside the cab, trying to spot anything odd.  
But this was New York, and here everything was odd, so Adrien wasn’t having much luck.  
He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn’t realise that they had reached their hotel.  
A sharp poke to his ribs brought him back to the land of the living.  
“Are you okay Adrien? You seem a little off today.” Marinette asked, a small frown on her pretty face.  
Well, if Marinette, the queen of spacing out, was asking him this question, then something was wrong.  
“Yeah, I am fine.” Adrien told her, and accompanied with a smile. “Let’s go.”


	2. Sightseeing

A week had passed since they had arrived in New York. Marinette was busy the whole time fixing up whatever needed to be done before the Fashion week, and she didn’t get any time for what she really wanted to do. Sightseeing.

She was in New York for god’s sake! One of the biggest cities of the world, and this was the first time she had come here! But that stupid show was taking all of her time!

Fuming silently, she stormed down her hotel corridor, too tired to even be angry. When she reached her hotel room, she pulled out the keys and unlocked the door, slowly as she wasn’t sure if Adrien was there or not, or whether he was sleeping or not. As the door creaked open, Marinette noticed that Adrien  _ was _ there, but he wasn’t sleeping. Rather he was sitting on the bed, reading a book.

He glanced at her as deftly stepped over the threshold, shutting the door behind her. “You look horrible.” He commented, with a small smile on his face.

“Gee thanks.” Marinette sighed as she dumped her duffel bag on a nearby chair, and fell flat on her face onto the bed.

Adrien frowned. He sat up straight, closing the book and keeping it on the nightstand. He leaned towards her. “Mari, what’s wrong?”

Marinette sighed once again, and tilted her head towards him.

“This is tiring and boring.”

Needless to say, Adrien looked quite surprised at this. “I thought you liked this?”

“I  _ do _ like it. But not if you are being forced to work 14 hours a day!”

Adrien chuckled lightly. “So what do you want to do?”

Marinette flopped back on her face. “Sightseeing.”

The voice came out muffled, so Adrien didn’t catch it. “What?”

Marinette looked back at him. “Sightseeing.”

Adrien couldn’t keep his excitement down. Marinette wanted to go sightseeing? That was great! It was saturday tomorrow, and Adrien was planning to go and see a few things, even if Marinette didn’t come. He knew he should probably stay with her, but when was he going to get to see New York City again?

“Really?” He asked, sounding like an eager puppy.

“Hmmm…” Marinette’s sleepy voice murmured in assent.

“So, can we go tomorrow?”

Marinette looked up at him. And then her face split in a tired smile. “Sure.”

* * *

An hour’s ride away, at the airport, a certain musician was standing at the baggage claim, waiting for his suitcases to come around. Fragments of melodies were floating around in his head, both original songs and some songs he was going to cover while his time here.

He still couldn’t believe it. New York City. And he was going to perform here. He hadn’t gotten a Times Square slot on New Year’s eve, but he couldn’t expect to do so. He wasn’t that good yet. Maybe a few more years.

A sudden chill went down his spine and prompted him to stick his hand in his jacket. He hadn’t worn that particular one for some time, but he was pleased to notice that it still fit him. As he put his hand in his pocket, something brushed against his fingers. He frowned and pulled it out. It was a bracelet, made of many irregular large beads.

A sudden rush of memories came back to him. 

Marinette.

She had given the bracelet a long time ago, and he had totally forgotten about it. In fact, he had tried so hard to forget all about  _ her _ .

That had been quite unsuccessful, he now realised.

Her smile came back to him, along with the memory of how her hair shined in the sunlight, and her beautiful eyes. He shook his head.

_ You need to move on Luka. _

The guitar case came into his line of sight, the black material covered with stamps from all around the world from his performances. He considered them souvenirs. As it came closer, Luka wondered if they had been careful with it or not. He couldn’t afford to have it damaged. It became clearer, and Luka relaxed. It was fine. He took a few steps forward, and picked it up from the carousel.

_ Music is your life now. _

* * *

The next morning, the alarm went off at 9am. Adrien’s hand poked out from the covers, flopped around for a bit, before finding the phone and switching it off. Just a few more minutes.

But those ‘few’ minutes turned into half an hour, and when Adrien next stirred, it was 9:34.

He got up, stretched, and looked around. Beside him, Marinette was comatose. Adrien smiled at her. It had been four years since they had moved in together, and he still loved watching her sleep.

He quickly got off the bed, deciding to only wake her up after he was ready. She was resting, and hell, she needed it. When he came out of the shower, however, he noticed he wouldn’t have to wake her up after all. She was already awake, and stretching.

She smiled blearly at him as he walked out. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll freshen up and then we’ll go.” Adrien nodded.


	3. Attack of the Hydra

Marinette was excited. She was about to explore New York City! They grabbed breakfast from the bakery across the street, Marinette choosing a few cinnamon rolls while Adrien opted for a croissant. They weren’t as good as Marinette’s, obviously, but they will have to do.

“So, where do you want to go first?” Adrien asked as they walked down a sidewalk, quietly nibbling on their baked goods.

Marinette thought for a while. “I’ve always wanted to visit Central Park.”

“We can go to see the Statue of Liberty next.” Adrien added.

“Sure. I’ll love that.” And then it was decided.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, both of them had reached and were walking across a stretch of grass in the middle of the park. Both of them were pointing out different types of flowers and butterflies and naming them. Suddenly, the ground began to shake. 

It was very subtle at first, but it steadily grew more and more strong. By this time, Marinette and Adrien had roamed to a part of the park where there weren’t many people around, except for someone in a light blue hoodie slowly strumming a guitar in a corner. They had not noticed each other yet.

Suddenly, something burst out of the foliage a few metres away from them. Marinette squinted at it, but she wasn’t sure what exactly it was. It seemed like some huge four-legged animal, but the area around his head seemed a little fuzzy. 

_ Maybe I need spectacles now.  _ She thought.

When she turned around to look at Adrien, however, she noticed he looked paler than usual. She frowned at him. “Adrien, are you okay?”

Ignoring her, Adrien took a step back. “What the hell is that?!”

The person on the other side of the clearing had also noticed it and was frowning at it as well.

Marinette was thoroughly confused now. “Adrien, what is it?”

Adrien took a step back, his face now white. “That thing has eight heads!”

“No, it can’t. Adrien, do you want to go back? You can tell me, you know, I wouldn’t mind.”

“It has eight heads!” Adrien exclaimed again.

Marinette looked back at it again. The area around the head was still fuzzy. She blinked a few times, to clear the blurriness, but it didn’t help. 

Suddenly, the thing attacked. It had been still till now, but then it pounced.  Adrien dragged Mari out of the way, but it wasn’t them that it had attacked. 

It was the other person. The one who had been strumming the guitar.

Luka’s heart leaped into his throat when he noticed the animal leap towards him. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was, it was the size of a horse, but it had much more bulk. And then there was the problem of the head. He couldn’t see it. He didn’t know how.

In an instant, the animal was a metre away from him. There was a snapping sound on his left, but when he whipped his head towards it, there was nothing there. Some instinct told him to move towards the right, and he did so, just in time. When he looked back, there was some black substance that was dissolving the grass. Luka had researched enough about his snakes to know what it was.

Venom.

He tossed his guitar behind some bushes nearby, and pulled out the pocket knife he always carried with him. 

He brandished the knife in front of him, hoping to scare the beast away. But it was so small, Luka was doubting that it was doing anything except making him look comical. 

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed two other people on the other end of the clearing. But he only managed to catch a glimpse of blond and dark blue hair before his focus was brought back to the animal. He couldn’t see the attacks, so he decided to rely on the instincts given to him by using the snake miraculous. He jumped to the right, not a moment too soon. A snapping voice came again from where he was standing, and Luka realised he would have been cut in half if he had been standing there.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t been seeing where he was going, and he crashed against a tree. He let out a small cry of pain. He was okay, more or less, but the knife was knocked out of his hand. 

_ Great. _

Now he had no defence. He considered using his miraculous, but the audience deterred him. Yelling out “Sass, scales slither!” would probably attract attention.

The animal attacked again, and Luka dodged. He didn’t think he would be able to keep up this game for much longer. Once he was dead, the animal would surely move to the other people. And kill them too.

He tried to get up again, but a stabbing pain on his side made him crouch again.

_ Maybe I broke a rib when I crashed into the tree. _

He doubted he would be able to defeat this, whatever it was, but he had to try.

Suddenly, there was a flash of something metallic, and a yell. “Annabeth! Torch it!” Followed by a bright flare. Luka squinted. And suddenly, he was airborne again. He crashed into a tree.  _ Again. _

He passed out, but only for a minute.

When he got up, the animal was lying on the ground on its side, clearly dead. Luka looked up at his saviors. There were two people, a boy and a girl. As his vision refocussed, Luka thought that he remembered them from somewhere, but he couldn’t place it.

The dark haired boy was staring at the blonde girl.

“What the  _ hell _ was that?! What did you use?”

The girl grinned, and held up two containers. 

“Deodorant and a lighter. Don’t ask why I have them.”

The guy chuckled.

Luka let out an involuntary groan, and their heads snapped towards him.

“Oh dear gods, are you okay?!” The guy exclaimed. The girl rolled her eyes at him.

“Of course not, Seaweed Brain. It’s not like he was thrown against a tree  _ twice _ .”

She pushed him out of the way, and crouched down beside him. She squinted at Luka’s midsection.

“Broken ribs. I am not sure if there is any internal bleeding, but we should get him to a hospital, just in case.”

She got up, and faced towards the animal. But it wasn’t there anymore. The only thing left of it was a head, which looked like it had come from a huge snake. The girl sighed. “It was a Hydra.”

The boy frowned. “I swear, since we have left camp, the demigods have become more and more incompetent. I have seen this thing roam around New York since the past six months.”

The girl sighed. “I know.

And then, an amazed and a vaguely familiar voice called out from across the clearing. “Annabeth?”


	4. Meeting Some Old Friends

Marinette could not believe her eyes. She knew that Percy and Annabeth lived together in New York, but she hadn’t expected to meet them. Even less expected them to save them from a monster.

Annabeth turned to look at whoever had called out to her. And then she froze.

Marinette watched as expressions flitted across her face. Curiosity, surprise, disbelief and then happiness. “Marinette?”

Mari grinned, and got off the ground. “Yep.”

Annabeth wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. Sure, her and Marinette had met after a long time, but she was the one who had lost touch. Even though she looked happy to see her, Annabeth wasn’t sure. Should she hug her? Or should she give her a handshake? Usually she wasn’t so unsure about these things, but this was different. 

Her dilemma was interrupted by a loud groan. The guy on the ground seemed even more in pain now. He had a hood over his head, so it was hard to discern what he looked like. The only thing visible was a few wisps of blue hair.

Annabeth turned back to Percy, who was gawking at Marinette and Adrien. “We need to get him to the hospital, ASAP. Does your car have enough space?”

Percy stared at her. “Of course it does!” He then gestured to Adrien to help pick the guy up and transport him to the car, which was standing outside the park. Adrien moved to comply.

When they picked him up, however, the guy’s hood fell back, and Adrien and Marinette stopped in shock. 

It was Luka.

“Luka?” Marinette gasped, but by then he had fallen unconscious.

Annabeth didn’t know who that was, but judging by the expressions of the friends she had met after a long time, they did. They were also very surprised at finding them here, and hadn’t known that this person, whoever it was, was in New York.

Just as they were moving out of the clearing, Annabeth’s eyes fell on some bushes. Or rather, what was behind it. 

A guitar.

There was not much doubt as to whose it could be. The person they had just rescued had calluses on his fingers, and the instrument was a shade of blue that was quite similar to the colour his hair tips were. She quickly moved towards it and picked it up, and then looked around in case there was a case. There was one covered in stamps, lying a few feet away. She picked it up and packed the guitar in it. And then she jogged back to the others, who by then had staggered out of the clearing and were making towards the entrance.

Percy and Annabeth had heard the roars of the Hydra and hurried to quickly save the poor schmuck who had gotten himself in trouble. To reach them quickly, they had parked the car beside a nearby entrance. It now came handy, as now Percy and Adrien didn’t have to lug an unconscious guy behind them for very long.

Annabeth then remembered that Marinette, who was walking beside her, knew who it was. His name was Luka, apparently.

“So, who is that?” She asked Mari.

“Huh?” Marinette’s face whipped around to her, clearly being startled out of her own thoughts.

Annabeth swiped some strands of her blonde hair off her forehead.

“Who is that? The guy who was attacked by the Hydra. You knew him.”

“That thing was called a Hydra?”

Annabeth nodded. She realised that Marinette was trying to skip talking about the guy, but Annabeth wasn’t about to let it go.

Mari sighed. “It was just someone I knew a long time ago, in Paris.”

Annabeth noticed that she wasn’t telling her the whole truth. Judging by her reaction to seeing him, he was clearly more than ‘someone she knew’. But she wasn’t going to push.

By then, they had reached the car. There wasn’t enough space for all of them, but they managed to squeeze in. Luka’s feet ended up in Marinette’s lap and his head in Adrien’s in the backseat. Adrien didn’t look very comfortable with this, but he accepted the accommodations without complaint.

The drive to the hospital was exciting, to say the least. Percy drove like a madman, weaving in and out of the lanes and turning sharp and the corners. Thankfully, everyone lived.

* * *

Adrien was surprised, to say the least, when he realised that Luka was in New York. He probably should have been a little protective of Marinette as well, but at that time he had been too preoccupied with what he had seen. That animal, what was it? It was as big as a rhino, but had eight writhing snake-like heads. That thing couldn’t exist in real life, could it? Adrien was hoping that it all was a bad dream.

Right now, they were all squeezed in Percy’s Prius, heading towards their apartment.

Luka had been badly injured, two broken ribs that had punctured his lung. He had immediately been taken into surgery, and now, 3 hours later, he was lying down on a hospital bed. He still hadn’t woken up. Adrien believed that his usage of the snake miraculous will help him heal more quickly.

Everyone had decided to go to Percy and Annabeth’s apartment and freshen up, before coming back to the hospital. Annabeth had elected to stay behind until the rest of them returned.

“So, what was that thing?” Adrien asked out loud, shattering the silence in the car.

Percy glanced at him in the rearview mirror. “What?”

“That thing that had attacked us. What was it?”

"Long storty." He replied. It was clear that he was preoccupied.

“Was it from Greek mythology? How the hell was it alive?”

Percy almost crashed the car. “Did you seriously just ask me that?!”

A memory shot through Adrien’s mind. “Oh of course. They’re real. Sorry, I still can’t believe it.”

Percy nodded, and continued driving.


	5. The Attack

“So, tell me exactly, what the hell happened back there?!”

Marinette looked up from the swirling designs in her coffee, to see Adrien, with his eyes wide, staring at Percy who was lounging on the couch opposite them, sharpening a knife. He had apparently decided to leave them to their thoughts after what they had just experienced.

“Huh?” He asked.

“What was that thing?” Adrien repeated.

“It’s called a Hydra, apparently.” Marinette piped up before she knew what she was doing. Both the boys stared at her.

“You know what it was?” Adrien asked, sounding more surprised than betrayed.

Why would he feel betrayed anyway?

Marinette shook her head. “I just heard it from Annabeth.I don’t know anything else.”

Percy nodded and looked away, outside the window which looked onto the New York skyline.

“It had eight heads. Eight snake heads.” Adrien continued.

Percy’s head snapped back to his face. “What did you just say?!”

Adrien looked a little taken aback. “I- I said that it had eight heads.”

Percy chuckled to himself and flopped back on the couch. “Who knew?” He spoke lightly, probably to himself.

“Knew what?” 

Percy turned back towards them. “You can see through the Mist.” He addressed Adrien, a storm starting to brew in his sea- green eyes.

“The- mist?”

“No, not mist. Mist. With a capital M.” He got up and strode to the window. 

There was a pause. Which started stretching. And it looked like Percy had no intention of breaking it.

“And?” Adrien said, a bit irritable. Marinette stared at him. He was acting very odd today. Adrien noticed her looking and gestured to her that he was fine. Marinette thought it was probably because of what all he had experienced today.

Percy turned back to them. “The Mist is this magical veil that prevents mortals from seeing all the monsters and all that mythical stuff that happens on Earth. So whatever is happening, people see it as stuff they can comprehend.”

“Doesn’t that mean that I wouldn’t have been able to see that Hydra?” 

Percy shook his head. “Well, yeah, but sometimes, some mortals are born with the ability to see through it. You are one of them, you can see through it.” With a small pause, he added, “My mom can too.”

Adrien started to speak something, but was cut off by the sound of the door opening. A few seconds later, Annabeth entered the room, unravelling the scarf from her head.

“How’s Luka?” Marinette asked.

“Good. The doctors gave him a sedative and he is sleeping. They say that he will be fine. They also said that they will keep an eye on him, so I could go back home.”

Marinette sighed. “I can express how happy and thankful I am for you guys. You were a godsend back there.”

Annabeth smiled. “Anything for you guys.”

“So,” Adrien piped up. “Didn’t the doctors ask what happened? They usually do, don’t they?”

“Yep.” Annabeth answered. “I told them that he was climbing a tree and he fell down. They looked a little suspicious, but they bought it.” Adrien nodded.

Silence spread again, and this time it was stretching a bit too much.

“We need to warn you guys about a few things.” Marinette suddenly said, drawing everyone’s attention back towards her. 

“Yes?” Percy prompted.

Marinette shifted a little uncomfortably, and said. “As you guys know, the New York Fashion week is near, and that is why we are here.”

“So?” Annabeth asked.

Marinette took a chipped breath. “Gabriel Agreste is here too.” She wasn’t sure if Annabeth and Percy knew about the fact that he was Hawkmoth, but she hoped they did. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Adrien whip his head around to her and give her an accusatory look. Well, she probably should have talked it out with him first. But anyways, they were going to find out, and the sooner the better. They might be able to avert the danger, if there was any.

“Hawkmoth?” Annabeth asked, the eyebrows scrunching together.

Marinette nodded.

“But didn’t we damage his miraculous? How did he-” Percy started.

“He probably managed to fix it.” Annabeth cut him off.

Marinette held up her palms, making a placating gesture, for some reason. “He hasn’t attacked Paris for many years now, and we don’t have any reason to believe that he will start now. But it will be better if we were vigilant, just in case.” 

Annabeth nodded, but she still looked worried.

Suddenly, Tikki and Plagg flew out of Marinette’s pocket. A glimpse of their faces showed that they were terrified and extremely worried. They grasped their hands together, and a shimmering bubble of some translucent purple force stretched out from them, encasing all four. 

Marinette frowned, and began to ask what they were doing. 

Before she could get a word in edgewise, however, the building exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. All four of them flew backward, and the last thing Marinette remembered before passing out was fire, and a huge silhouette of a winged creature looming over them.


	6. Realisation

Adrien groaned as he came back to consciousness. His head felt as large as a basketball, and at least thrice that heavy. Just as he tried to sit up, a firm hand clasped on his shoulder and gently pushed him back down. The hard and rough surface behind his back wasn’t all that comfortable, but at least it provided him some surface to rest till his headache subsided.

“Don’t get up, you were quite badly injured.” Marinette’s voice said somewhere above him.

“What happened?” Adrien managed to croak out.

There was silence. And then someone spoke up hesitantly, probably Annabeth. “Maybe you should wait until you are better.”

Adrien realised something was wrong. 

Very wrong.

With effort, he opened his eyes, and looked at the three people surrounding him. All three were awake, meaning that Adrien had been most badly injured.

“What the hell happened?” He demanded. He didn’t have time for politeness while his head was hurting like crazy. Speaking of the headache, a new spike of pain went through it as he spoke. 

Understanding that Adrien wasn’t going to rest, Marinette helped him get up and held a bottle of water to his lips. Adrien finished it in one go, and felt his headache decrease.

As the throbbing in his head receded, his other senses expanded. To his shock, he noticed that there were floodlights everywhere, a dozen ambulances were tending to the injured, and the worst of all, 7 sheet- covered bodies lying in the middle of it all. A huge pile of rubble was behind it all.

“What the hell happened?” He demanded again, his headache insignificant compared to the chaos around him. 

Kneeling beside him, Marinette whispered. “Hawkmoth.”

Adrien was afraid that this would happen, but it still hadn’t prepared him for the words spoken aloud.

There was silence for some time. 

And then a few words slipped over Adrien’s lips. “How? I mean he doesn’t have the power to destroy whole buildings, does he?”

The hesitant silence that followed told Adrien that the worst was yet to come.

Without saying anything, Marinette pulled out her phone and tapped the screen a few times. Then she held it out for Adrien to see.

A blurry video was playing, clearly a clip made in a great hurry. But it managed to capture what was the most important.

A figure was hovering over what looked like Times Square. It was vaguely humanoid, and it was floating at least 10 stories above the ground. 

It was just then that Adrien noticed that the sky had become cloudy. Extremely cloudy.

“Citizens of New York!” The figure in the video called out. It shouldn’t have been audible, but it was. “I have been dormant for too long. I have come to reclaim my throne, and this time, I will rule over the world.” Lightning crackled. For a second, the video focused, and Adrien saw clearly. The figure was wearing a familiar purple mask, but it was the only thing that was the same. 

He was now outfitted with a dark purple skin tight jumpsuit, and a shimmering black cape billowed behind him, which looked like something the night sky had been folded into.

But the most impressive thing in his profile were the huge wings which had unfurled from its shoulder blades. Dark brown feathers merged with fawn colored ones as they moved away from Hawkmoth’s body, forming a gradient, which was punctuated by white ones here and there.

Oh god, this could only mean one thing. 

He had united the Thunderbird and the Butterfly miraculous.

Adrien hadn’t been sure if it was possible, as both Thunderbird and Butterfly miraculouses had been different, but apparently, it was.

And now, Hawkmoth was more powerful than ever.

What was worse, he was in New York.

If this had happened in Paris, it would have been easier, because it was Marinette and Adrien’s home turf, and they knew every inch of it.

But New York? That was impossible. The fact that it was the most well-known city in the world did not change the fact that Ladybug and Chat Noir will be totally useless here.

The only people they could rely upon were Percy and Annabeth, and Adrien somehow doubted they would know the gravity of the situation. 

The clip finished, but Adrien had been too busy thinking about Hawkmoth and Thunderbird Miraculous. 

“Oh God! What will we do?” He whispered, breathing deeply. Then he turned his head to look at the others.

“At this moment? Nothing.” Percy answered. “All of us are injured, and exhausted. We won’t be able to do anything. The only thing we can do right now, is rest.”

“But how? Your apartment was destroyed.” Marinette asked.

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other. “Camp Half- Blood.” They said together.

****

“I still don’t understand. Why did we have to get _ him _ with us?” Adrien asked from the backseat of Percy’s Prius, nudging a still-unconscious Luka with his head.

Marinette sighed. “For God’s sake, Adrien, can you stop being so jealous for a second?”

Percy glanced at them from the rearview mirror, a small smile playing on his lips.

“We had to get Luka because Hawkmoth knows who he is, and he can harm him.” Marinette continued.

Adrien let out a noncommittal noise and settled back again. Silence reigned.

Suddenly, Marinette sat up, looking at Luka’s wrist. Adrien noticed. “What are you doing?”

Marinette didn’t reply. Instead, she just said one word. “Sass?”

All was still for a few moments, and one one of the bracelets on Luka’s wrist began to glow turquoise. Few seconds later, the light condensed into a small figure, a kwami.

“Hello Marinette.” Sass said, and then looked around. “Where am I?”

“Never mind that.” Marinette said quickly. “Do you think if Luka transforms he will be able to heal faster?”

Sass nodded. “Do you want me to do it here?”

Marinette shook her head. “No, not yet. In a couple of hours.”

Sass nodded and melted back into the bracelet.

The car was now cruising along a deserted hill. There was nothing there.

“Are you sure we are in the correct place?” Marinette asked.

Percy didn’t respond. Instead he just pulled over and stopped. “Come on.”

Marinette and Adrien got out, supporting Luka. Annabeth started leading them to the top of the hill, and they followed, still thoroughly confused. There was nothing there.

“Wait.” Percy said, and then chanted some words in a language that Adrien didn’t know. Probably Ancient Greek. He motioned at them to start walking again. Just as the stepped over the summit, Marinette and Adrien’s eyes went wide.

“Oh my God!”


	7. Camp Half- Blood

Saying that Marinette had never expected to see what she did now would be an understatement. Where there had been nothing before, a full fledged summer camp campus had suddenly appeared. Wood cabins, a fire pit, the whole lot. The only thing different from what is supposed to be a normal summer camp was the archery range, and what looked an awful lot like a wall with lava pouring down it.

Marinette tried to take a step forward, but suddenly realized that she couldn’t. An invisible force was blocking her way. She looked around, and some distance away, noticed a huge pine tree.

“Sorry about that.” Percy said, looking at her. “I don’t remember how to get you past that.”

“What is it, anyway?” 

“It was originally supposed to keep monsters and mortals out, but now that job is done by that.” He waved to an enormous figure that was standing just inside the border. A statue, by the looks of it. “Give me a minute, I’ll call Chiron.” Saying that, he sprinted off the direction of the camp, the invisible wall not giving him any hindrance. Marinette looked after him, still trying to understand, when Luka shifted. 

Her head whipped around, and she was just ready to exclaim that he had woken up until she realised that it had been Adrien.

“Damn, this guy is heavy. Can we put him down now?”

Marinette remembered her earlier plan. “Yeah, just give me a second. “She shifted, moving Luka’s arm so it didn’t hurt as much anymore. “Sass?”

“Present.” Sass appeared, glowing.

“Can you do it now?”

“Ssssure.” There was a flash of turquoise, and the next second, Luka was encased in his miraculous supersuit. 

“He’s upgraded.” Adrien said, sounding impressed.

Indeed he had. His mask was much more elaborate than before, small black spots and scales that made it look more authentic.

His body suit formed a gradient, starting with dark turquoise at the bottom and turning almost white at the top. It was covered in scales, which looked almost real. It was built in a way that accented his muscles, and yellow and black were used abundantly. 

The whole aesthetic screamed ‘Dangerous! Do not anger!”

Marinette would have been intimidated, if not for the fact that _she_ possessed the most powerful miraculous, and that Luka would never hurt her. 

“Whoa. That looks awesome.” Annabeth said.

A clopping noise prompted them all to look towards the camp again.

A silhouette was moving up the hill. At the first glance it looked like a man riding on a horse, but as it moved closer and into the moonlight, Marinette realised that that was not the case. She wasn’t really sure, but the area between the man’s waist and the horse was a little blurry.

A metre away from her, Adrien gasped. “You’re….. You’re….”

“A centaur, my dear boy.” The figure’s voice was deep, and it was weighed down by worry and sadness. Marinette didn’t know how she knew that.

“Chiron!” Annabeth exclaimed, and ran to hug the centaur around the waist.

They separated a few moments later, and Annabeth turned to the trio again, smiling. “Guys, this is Chiron. Activities director of Camp Half- Blood.”

“Chiron?” Adrien stuttered. “As in the Chiron from the-”

“Old stories? Yes.” Marinette noticed that he didn’t use the word _myth_. Years ago, she had heard the story of how all the greek and roman myths were real, but she hadn’t really believed it. Until one living breathing specimen right from those myths was standing right in front of her.

“I am sure you are tired. Percy told me what happened, and it would be quite unwise to let you three roam freely in New York until the situation is under control.”

Chiron spoke so casually of Hawkmoth being loose in New York, it made Marinette wonder what else the city had gone through. Then she decided that she didn’t want to know after all.

“We could accommodate you in the Big House.” Chiron mused, probably to himself.

“Um, there is a slight problem.” Adrien shifted Luka again. “We can’t get through.”

“A problem easily fixed.” Chiron said, and then whispered a few words in a language that Marinette didn’t understand. “Try now.”

Marinette and Adrien stepped forward together, and to her surprise, they moved right inside the boundary. 

“Let me help you with that.” Chiron moved forward, and picked Luka from their shoulders. He then draped him across his back. Marinette hadn’t realised how heavy Luka really was until he had been removed. As it hit in, so did the tiredness. 

Chiron probably noticed their situation, and without wasting any time, he quickly ushered them to the huge house in the middle of the valley, the place he had called the Big House, and let them sleep. Marinette knew that he must be burning with questions, but he didn’t ask any of them, something that Marinette was grateful for.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

****

Adrien woke up to sunlight shining through the window. For a second, he wasn’t sure where he was, but then the last night’s events came crashing down on him. His heart sank. He had hoped that it all had been a bad dream.

Beside him, Marinette was already up and moving around. They both had slept in their day clothes, and the denim jeans had been quite uncomfortable. But still, Adrien had slept like a baby.

He had just stretched when someone knocked on the door. “Come in!” He called out.

The door opened and a teenage boy stepped in. He was dressed simply in jeans and an orange shirt, and a set of reed pipes dangled from his neck. His face was impassive, but his eyes burned with curiosity. “Chiron wants to see you.” He announced. 

Adrien shared a look with Marinette. “Alright, tell him we will be down shortly."


	8. The Tour

Now that Marinette’s brain wasn’t foggy with shock, exhaustion, and just plain disbelief, she could finally look around her and see where she actually was. 

As soon as she had woken up, she had run to the window and looked outside, wishing with every fiber of her being that whatever had happened last night had been nothing but a really really bad dream.

It hadn’t been, of course.

Marinette’s spirits plunged as soon she saw the sunlight landscape before her. The lava wall she had glimpsed the night before was there, as well as the huge statue. It was even more intimidating in the sunlight.

She heard groaning behind her, and her spirits lifted a little. Adrien was there, and as long they were together, they would manage to go through anything.

Marinette had just turned around when there was a knock on the door. 

“Come in!” Adrien called out.

A teenage boy opened the door and stepped in, dressed simply in an orange t-shirt emblazoned with the words Camp Half- Blood and a pair of jeans. Marinette deduced that it was probably the uniform of this place. A set of reed pipes hung from his neck.

“Chiron wants to see you.” He said, looking around at both of them.

Marinette looked at Adrien, and him back at her.

“Alright,” He said. “Tell him that we will be down shortly.”

****

Marinette and Adrien had nothing to change into, so they just ran their hands down their clothes and fingers through their hair. They were by no means well- dressed, like they should have been, being in the fashion industry, but they were at least presentable.

The place was a bit confusing, but soon they found the staircase and went down. They didn’t have to bother finding the exit, or Chiron, as he was standing just at the foot of the stairs.

“Good morning,” He greeted them. “Did you have a comfortable sleep?”

“It was very comfortable, thank you.” Adrien said politely. Marinette marvelled at it. She didn’t trust herself to speak. She was still hoping that it was just a horrible dream, even though all evidence pointed towards the contrary.

“You must be hungry.” Chiron was looking at Marinette now. “I can send someone to bring you breakfast.”

“No thank you,” Marinette forced herself to reply. “I don’t think I will be able to eat anything right now.”

Chiron gave her an understanding smile, and she relaxed a bit. She couldn’t help but trust him.

Chiron glanced at Adrien, and he shook his head too.

“Alright. Perhaps you will feel hungry later.” 

Turning to a nearby door, he called out, “You can come now.”

Percy and Annabeth entered the hall, both washed and dressed. They had lost all their clothes in the collapse, and they too were wearing the same clothes as the day before. Percy was eating something wrapped in tinfoil, Marinette would have called them pancakes if not for the fact that they were bright blue.

“Take them around camp, and show them everything. Don’t forget to introduce them to  _ her _ .”

Both of them nodded, and Chiron clopped away, probably going to supervise or teach something.

There was silence for some time, while Percy was finishing his breakfast. Marinette didn’t know who ‘Her’ was, but she had a feeling that she would meet her soon.

Percy popped the last of the pancakes in his mouth, and wiped his hands on his pants. Annabeth gave him a disgusted look. He pretended not to notice.

“So,” Annabeth started, “Are you guys ready?”

****

They took them through the camp, pointing out and explained everything they went past. There was generic stuff that was in every summer camp, basketball and volleyball courts, cabins and other things, but there was also an archery range (Where they saw Chiron teaching) and the outdoor pavilion where all the campers ate. 

Annabeth explained how they all regularly played capture-the-flag in the woods, which Marinette found a little odd, and her and Adrien were horrified when they learnt that they kept monsters there ‘for practice.’

“Just don’t go in there without us, or any other camper.” Percy warned.

As time went on, Marinette started to lose interest in the tour. She was getting increasingly curious about the girl Chiron had mentioned before, and wanted to meet her. Why Chiron wanted them to meet her, Marinette had no idea, and that is why she couldn’t wait.

However, she was too polite to ask Percy and Annabeth to hurry up, so she refrained from doing so.

Finally, an hour and a half later, the tour got over. They were back at the front of the Big House.

“So, what do you guys think?” Percy asked.

“Well,” Adrien chuckled. “It is a lot to take in, to be honest, but this place is wonderfully constructed. How do you keep it hidden? The Mist?”

Percy nodded. There was silence for some time, and then Annabeth mouthed something to Percy. He frowned a bit, then understanding crossed his eyes.

“Oh yeah, there is someone you should meet.” He said, and then turned around and walked towards where the cabins were. They had told them that they were arranged in the greek letter omega, ‘Ω’, with a u-shape around the central green with two arms sticking out. 

Percy led to a cabin that was shaped like a miniature factory or a warehouse, with smoke stacks with smoke coming out of it.

“Hephaestus cabin.” Annabeth whispered, seeing Adrien and Marinette’s confusion.

Marinette didn’t want to admit it, but the place looked a little intimidating. She hoped they wouldn’t have to go in.

Suddenly, she remembered something. “Do you know where Luka is?” She asked Annabeth.

She smiled. “In the infirmary. He should be okay by the evening, our best Apollo campers are on his case.”

_ Apollo, God of Healing.  _ Marinette’s mind supplied.

Percy stopped in front of the door, and knocked. 

“Come in!” Someone said from the inside.

He poked his head in, and said something that they could not hear. The message must have been passed ok, because he stepped back and a minute later someone stepped out.

Marinette’s breath caught in her throat, and beside her, so did Adrien’s.

The figure who stepped out was so familiar, that she almost called her something she wasn’t.

Samirah.

“Marinette, Adrien, meet Almeada.”


	9. Getting to know Almeada

Silence. Utter silence. Adrien stared at her dumbfounded, trying to figure her out.This continued for a few moments.

“I remind you of her, don’t I?” The girl said softly.

Adrien was startled, and blinked a few times.

“Sam. I remind you of her, don’t I?”

“Yes.” Said Marinette beside him.

The girl nodded. “She was my sister. Cousin, of course. I liked her. A lot.”

Marinette nodded. “So did I. She was very powerful, and the kind of person who spoke her thoughts. It did get her in trouble many times, with all sorts of people, but she always got out of the situation.” She chuckled fondly. The girl smiled.

“So, what’s your name again?” Adrien asked.

“Almeada. Nice to meet you. You’re Cat Noir, right?” She asked, extending her hand for a handshake. Adrien complied.

“Yes, I do hold the miraculous. Though I haven’t had the need to use it for a long time now.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, you will soon, seeing that Hawkmoth’s back.”

There was a stunned silence for a while. 

“How do you know that? We haven’t told anyone.”

Annabeth cleared her throat. “We did. To Chiron, after you both had gone to sleep. He thought that it would be better if we didn’t tell the whole camp, but he said to inform her.” She inclined her head towards Almeada. “Seeing that she was her cousin, and a Hephaestus camper, she would help.”

“And I will.” Almeada butted in. “That bastard killed my sister and took her miraculous, and I will shove his staff high up his ass to give company to the stick that’s already there.”

Percy cleared his throat. “Language, please.”

She gave him a sour look, but didn’t reply.

Adrien chuckled lightly. “How old are you?”

“Fifteen. But I am very good at what I do, and no matter if you take me in your team or not, I’ll make Hawkmoth pay. Not just in dollars, though that will make up a big part.”   
She was reminding him more and more of Samirah every second. That was a good thing. If she had the same temper, then Hawkmoth won’t just be defeated, but obliterated. He grinned. “Who said we weren’t going to take you? You’re in.” Almeada grinned back.

“Well,” She said, “If that’s all, there is a project that I am hoping to finish before lunch. We can meet in the evening, the third guy who came would have healed by then, and we can discuss our strategy together.” Then, without waiting for a reply, she ducked back into the cabin. Adrien noticed that the bottom half of her hair was dyed a bright blue.

“So, what do you think?” Percy asked. “Like her?”

“She’s….. A character.” Marinette answered, sounding a bit lost. She snapped back, and then continued, “She’s awesome. I’d be really happy if she was with us.”

Percy nodded. “Come on, let’s get you both freshened up.”

****

Lunch was awkward, so say the least. The campers were eating together in the pavilion, the campers with the same godly parent bunched together on one table. September had just started, and most of them will be gone in the next few days, but right now, all the tables were full. Marinette and Adrien were sitting on a separate table, with Chiron and someone they had never seen before. Chiron had vaguely introduced him as Mr.D, but the only greeting he gave was an acknowledging grunt. Then he had taken a swig from his goblet. Needless to say, they sat away from him.

Percy and Annabeth were sitting on their respective tables, Annabeth on Athena and Percy on Poseidon. Chiron had asked if they wanted to sit with them, but they had refused.

Almeada was sitting with the Hephaestus campers, but she was clearly distracted, playing with her food rather than eating it or talking with other people.

All the campers kept giving them furtive glances. Marinette tried her best to ignore them, focusing on her food instead. It wasn’t difficult, as it was delicious. Instead of the full- fledged 3-4 course lunch that was typical in French cuisine, she had opted for simple white sauce pasta instead, which was much better than what she had expected. The creamy sauce was something that she could only dream of replicating, and she was a baker’s daughter. She would have to ask for the recipe from the cooks later.

Halfway through the meal, Almeada got up from her table and made her way towards them. She set her plate on the table, and plopped down on the bench. Chiron gave her a disapproving look, but didn’t ask her to go back. She started talking.

“So, I’d been thinking about Hawkmoth, and how we could take him down, when I realised something. The Fashion week starts tomorrow-”

Marinette gasped. “The Fashion week! I’d forgotten all about that! Oh my god, I’ve still got work to do!” She was panicking, she had left a few things to do over the weekend. There was no way she'll be able to finish it all by herself. 

“You still have work to do?” Almeada asked, frowning. “Well, don’t need to get worried. I am sure the Aphrodite campers will help you out. They have a good eye for fabrics and colour. Plus, they owe me a few favours. Anyway,” She leaned forward, “I realised that Gabriel Agreste will also be there. We need more info, such as where is he staying, how long is he staying, and what exactly is he planning to do. So I was thinking that you guys could get close to him and bug him! I will need some time, of course, to design and make them, but they should be done-” 

“Now hold on,” Adrien interrupted. “How exactly should we bug him? Don’t you think he’ll find it strange if his son, who he had disowned, suddenly came and started talking to him?”

“I don’t know, use your skills.” She snapped, clearly distracted again. “Oh sorry, it came out a little to harsh-” 

Adrien waved her apology away. “It’s okay. Yours is a good plan, we will figure it out. By when will the bugs be ready?”

“Midnight, at the maximum. I will make them as tiny as I can, I will make sure they don’t fall off.”

She quickly shoved in the last bites of her baked vegetable dish, looking like she was already busy designing the bugs. Marinette liked her enthusiasm. Sure, most of it was arising from bloodlust, but it was enthusiasm nonetheless. 

Almeada got up, and the plate vanished in a puff of smoke. “Please send Luka Couffaine when he is awake. I’d like to talk to him.” Then without another word, she rushed away.

Now that they had a solid ally and a plan on their side, Marinette was feeling much more confident about defeating Hawkmoth.


	10. The Rest of the Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Jason's alive in this story.

When Marinette and Adrien woke up next morning, they had a surprise waiting for them. Of course, they did not know about it, and almost had a heart attack when Percy and Annabeth took them to see it. 

Or rather,  _ them _ . 

They had not seen the beach yet, and nor did they want to, seeing it was Monday and they needed to get to the venue of the event, but it was five o’clock in the morning at that time, and the event didn’t start for another 4 hours, so they reluctantly agreed to be dragged there.

A small congregation of people were standing on the sand, looking towards them. At first, Marinette didn’t recognise them, but as they came closer, it was clear who they were.

Piper was there, along with Frank and Hazel. There were two more people she didn’t recognise, a girl with chestnut hair and almond-shaped eyes, with sun-kissed skin. The other was a tall blond boy, wearing a pair of golden- rimmed glasses. Rather than making him look nerdy, like it did with many people, it just made him look better, if that was even possible. Some distance away, a bronze dragon was roaming around. Marinette decided not to question it.

“There they are!” Piper yelled, when she noticed them. It was quite windy, but still her words were quite audible. She ran towards them, and when she reached Marinette, she captured him in a bone crushing hug. Beside her, Frank was doing the same with Adrien.

“Where’s Leo?” Percy asked, looking around.

“He went with Almeada to Bunker 9. She said she wanted to show him some designs.” The girl Marinette didn’t know said. She had a slight lilt in her voice; not exactly an accent, but it set her apart from others. 

Annabeth, looking at Marinette’s puzzled expression, explained, “That’s Calypso. Leo’s girlfriend.” 

Marinette nodded. “Let me guess, you’re the original one? The one who was imprisoned on an island for a thousand years?”

Calypso nodded. “The one and only. And you are Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I presume?”

Marinette grinned, and gave a small bow. “The one and only.”

Piper had stepped back during this conversation, but now, she stepped forward again. “I don’t think you have met my boyfriend, Jason, yet.” She waved over the blond guy, who came jogging.

“Good morning.” He greeted. “I have heard a lot about you guys. A few years ago, when they had visited you guys in Paris, she came back and didn’t shut up about you for months. She’s an ardent follower of the Ladyblog.”

Marinette smiled at him. She liked him already. Even though he looked a bit intimidating at first sight, he was quite nice.

She had just opened her mouth to reply when there was a pattering of footsteps behind them. She turned around and saw Almeada and Leo were hurrying over to them.

“Sorry we’re late!” She exclaimed, tucking a small notebook away.

She stopped in front of Marinette and Adrien, and pulled out a ziploc bag from one of the pockets in her cargo pants. Inside there were a few plates of metal which Marinette deduced were the bugs. She had forgotten to take them from her yesterday night.

“Are you sure they would work?” Adrien asked, skepticism lacing his voice. Marinette understood what he was thinking. The plates of metal were hardly bigger than a quarter of a postage stamp, and there was no way that they could work as efficiently as they needed to.

“Of course they work! I made them!” She exclaimed, sounding a little hurt. “I mean I did have to use a little magic, but they work. Perfectly.”

“Magic?” Marinette asked, confused. “I thought you were a daughter of Hephaestus, God of Blacksmiths.”

“I am also a legacy of Hecate, Goddess of Magic. I can do some basic stuff, such as increasing how much these can hear.” She raised the bag of bugs.

“Anyways, these are pretty easy to work. All you have to do is get close to Gabriel, toss one of these on him, and then go away. Make sure they land on bare skin. Then a few minutes later, they will burrow themselves under the skin, making a small cut that will not hurt more than a mosquito bite. Or a  _ bug _ bite.” She chuckled lightly at her own joke. “And yeah, try to put them where it cannot be seen easily, both by him or other people. The hair is the best bet. Or the back of the neck. But try to aim for the hair.” She handed Adrien the bag. “I have made around seven, just in case you lose some of them or they do not stick, but try to make sure that not more than two of them go in.”

Adrien nodded. 

“Thank you. These will be very helpful.” Marinette told her.

She smiled. “It’s alright. You don’t need to thank me. I am doing this for myself as well as you guys.”

Adrien turned around to look at all the rest. “I am sorry to be asking this, but can someone drop us to our hotel? We need to pick up a few things.”

“I can.” Percy sounded like it had already been decided. “Actually Almeada wanted to, but she is too dangerous to be on the road.”

“Bull-” She started, but looking at Annabeth’s expression, she changed her words. “-faeces. I can drive very well. It’s just when I take my cars for test drives I drive dangerously. I am pretty good at driving.”

“You don’t have a driving license.” Percy deadpanned.

Almeada waved the words away. “Irrelevant.”

“Ok, so it’s decided. You both can get your stuff from the Big House, and meet me in front of Thalia’s Pine Tree in half an hour.” Saying that, he took off, Annabeth following him.

“Jason, the machinery you asked me for the shrines is done. You can come to Bunker 9 whenever you want to check it out.”

“We can go now, if you want.” He answered, and they also left, Almeada’s blue ponytail swishing.


	11. Planting the Bugs

Marinette’s hands were sweating as they drove to the hotel where the fashion week was to be held. Percy had offered to drive them, but they had refused, opting for a taxi instead. The prices were quite steep, and Adrien had said that he was quite sure that it was because they were foreigners.

“Are you sure that the bugs are with you?” Marinette asked, probably for the dozenth time.

“ _Yes_ . And they are _okay_.” Adrien replied, not sounding nervous at all. She didn’t know how he did it. But then, he had always been quite subdued with his emotions, rather than freaking out, which seemed to be Mari's signature style.

She would have felt much better if they had someone with them, or if it didn’t feel like they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. It wasn’t that much of course, but it felt like it.

Marinette had been so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realise that they had reached until the car lurched to a stop. With shaking knees, she got out of the car, and Adrien followed, after paying. Just as he shut the door, the taxicab sped off.

Marinette turned around, and in front of her was the impressive facade of the Marriott Hotel. But the only thoughts swirling around in her head were _Gabriel Agreste…. Thunderbird Miraculous…. Hawkmoth…… Powerful….._

“Come on you guys! You’re late!!” A small figure rushed towards them, and grabbing their arms, started dragging them towards the wide open doors. They were so shocked, it took a moment for them to realise who it was.

“... _.Almeada_?” Adrien asked incredulously.

Indeed it was her. She looked quite nice, dressed in a pair of black jeans and a turtleneck, paired with a beige trenchcoat and a pair of fawn coloured suede biker boots.

“Yeah! Who else would it be? Come on, your prep room is towards the back, number 34, and the event is taking place in the Epiphany Auditorium, and you’re up at 2 o’clock.” She rushed on, pulling them inside the doors and nodding good-naturedly to the guard there.

“Almeada,” Adrien started, gently pulling his arm out of her grip, “What exactly are you doing here?”

“What?” She dropped Marinette’s hand and looked at him, offended. “Just because I am a mechanic doesn’t mean I can’t like dresses.” She frowned at him.

“No,” Marinette said quickly, “I am sure he does not mean that. He was asking you why are you here with us? Did you have to go home today?” She knew that the campers would be going home today, and that was why she hadn’t asked the Aphrodite campers to help her; she was sure they had to pack.

“I am staying at Camp till December. I am moving in a few months, and I am not attending school this year.” She clarified. “Well now, come on,” She said, grabbing their forearms again. “You’ve still got work to do.”

* * *

Marinette was sweating again. There were only fifteen minutes before it was her turn to present, and Adrien was in the changing room, putting on what was supposed to be her presentation’s highlight.

But she wasn’t nervous about the performance, but rather, what was before it. She had gotten to know that Gabriel Agreste’s presentation was just before hers, and she did not doubt that his team would be there with them backstage before her presentation.

Meaning that her and Gabriel would be in the same place, at the same time, and she would have to plant the bug on him.

She could think of a million ways it could all go wrong, but for the sake of the plan, she forced herself to stay calm. The world was depending on her.

 _No._ She thought as she felt nauseated again. Almeada. _Almeada_ was depending on her. That was better.

Her and Adrien had had a conversation about who would actually go talk to him, as both the heads of a fashion company coming to talk to the head of another rival fashion company sounded a little odd. Well, not to other people, but Gabriel was Adrien’s father, and he had disowned him. It did look a little suspicious, and they had to make sure that Gabriel didn’t find it so. 

Well, either of them going to talk to him looked suspicious, but that couldn’t be helped.

So now the question that remained was that who was going to do it?

Marinette wanted Adrien to do it, but he looked uncomfortable, hiding behind the excuse that she was the founder of the company and she should be the one talking to him so it won’t look odd. Marinette, of course, saw through it, and was struck by how scared he looked. So she agreed, even though every fiber of her body screamed at her not to.

“Marinette,” A small voice shook her out of her thoughts. Tikki. “Are you sure that you don’t want me to do it? I could, you know.”

Tikki had offered to drop the bug in his hair while Marinette distracted him, but she had declined. She felt that Gabriel might feel a kwami nearby and start to suspect her.

“Why exactly don’t you want me to do it?” Tikki asked, sounding a bit frustrated.

Marinette sighed, and told her.

“You’re acting stupid now.” Tikki chided. “Of course he’ll sense a kwami near you, you’re Ladybug! And he won’t know where exactly I am, so there's no chance of him figuring out what we are doing.” 

Marinette thought about it for a while. What Tikki had said did make sense, and was stupid in not thinking about it before. She just hoped it would work.

She dug her hand into the pocket of her coat, and pulled out the ziploc bag that Adrien had given to her. She offered it to Tikki.

“Keep all of them. Make sure that not more than two of them land in his hair.” She said, repeating the warning Almeada had given her early that morning. Tikki nodded, and did something to the bag so that it vanished in thin air. Marinette wasn’t worried, she knew she’ll be able to call on it when she wanted to.

Now that they had a solid plan, Marinette was feeling much better. She still wished Almeada could be with her, but she knew she couldn’t.

She had received a call around twelve o’clock, and she had rushed back to camp. Marinette had hoped that she would come back, even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to.

“Well,” Marinette sighed. “I hope everything goes well.”


	12. Gabriel Agreste

“Watch where you are going.” An ice-cold voice reached Marinette ears. She had just bumped Gabriel Agreste, not at all by mistake, in order to give him an excuse to talk to her. 

And it had worked.

Marinette turned around, her eyes narrowed, channelling all of her Ladybug confidence. “Perhaps  _ you _ should watch where you are going.” She told him.

“Watch it. Don’t forget who you are talking to.” He growled at her.

“Someone who was so obsessed with his dead wife that he abandoned his only son, and spent all of his time playing with butterflies.” She replied.

Gabriel’s glasses flashed. Behind him, Marinette saw Tikki float above his head, clutching a bug.

But just as she dropped it, Gabriel rushed forward, towards Marinette.The bug fell to the ground. He stopped just inside her personal space, but she refused to back down, staring into his steel-grey eyes.

“Watch what you are saying, girl. I can ruin your life and career with a snap of my fingers.”

“Not anymore. Have you forgotten how hard you had to work to stay afloat after it was revealed who Hawkmoth was?”

Gabriel’s lips curled into a smirk. “I wasn’t talking about that.”

Marinette’s heart thumped. He wasn’t talking about the company. He possessed something very powerful, and Marinette had a very good idea what it was.

The Thunderbird Miraculous.

All parts of Marinette’s body told her to run, to abandon the mission before it was too late, but she pushed those thoughts down and forced herself to stand her ground.

_ Just another minute Marinette, just till Tikki is done. _

Gabriel understood that she had realised what he was talking about, and noticed her fear. His grin became wider.

“What you are thinking about isn’t the only thing I have.” He said cryptically, leaning towards her. She frowned.

_ It’s done. Two bugs in his hair. _ Tikki’s voice echoed in her head.

Marinette gave Gabriel a disgusted look, and pushed past him and walked away. He didn’t grab her and pull her back, even though she knew he wanted to.

She was thankful about it, and the fact that it went more or less okay. The bugs were in his hair. She paused for a moment, catching her breath. When she turned around, Gabriel was walking away from her, his back ramrod straight. As she watched, he raised one hand and smacked it against his head, and she knew that Almeada’s bugs had gotten inside his skin.

_ Gotcha Hawkmoth. Let’s see who will be threatening the other very soon. _

* * *

“So, how did it go?” Almeada asked, bouncing on her feet.

It was past 8 o’clock, and Marinette and Adrien had just returned to Camp.

As soon as she had seen them, Almeada had come running over, pulling over a red sweater over her tank top and demanding if they were able to plant the bugs on him. 

“Yes. The bugs are on him. Or rather,  _ in _ him.”

Almeada grinned. “Great job guys! And yeah, Chiron wanted me to inform you that dinner’s starting in fifteen minutes.”

Adrien shook his head. “We already ate at the hotel. We’ll be skipping it, if you don’t mind.” 

Almeada shrugged. “Okay, but we still need to talk and discuss our plan further. Also, we need to discuss the schedule of monitoring Gabriel. Do you think you both will be able to come at nine thirty?”

“Where?” Adrien asked. “The Hephaestus cabin?”

“No. Bunker nine. You don’t need to worry about getting there, someone will take you.”

Adrien thought for a second, and nodded. “Sure. We’ll be there.”

She nodded in reply, and then turned around and started to walk away. Marinette lunged and grabbed her sweater sleeve. “I need to talk to you.” She said.

Almeada frowned at her. “Alright. We can do it in front of everyone later on.”

“No!” Marinette exclaimed. “It’s important. Now, please? And alone.” She added, shooting a significant look at Adrien. It took a moment for him to understand, but when he did, he nodded and started walking away. Marinettte waited until he was out of earshot before starting.

She didn’t have to whisper, and they were just inside the boundary of Camp Half-Blood and a short distance away from the huge statue of Athena, and there was nobody else here.

“When I was talking to Gabriel, before my performance, I heard him say something very odd.” She started.

Almeada leaned forward. “What?”

“Well, we know that he has the Thunderbird Miraculous, but he made it sound like he had another thing that had the same type of power.”

“What did he say exactly?” Almeada pressed.

“ _ What you are thinking about isn’t the only thing I have. _ ” Marinette repeated. “Or something along those lines.” 

Almeada shook her head, looking confused. It was clear she didn’t make any more sense of it than Marinette did. “I have no idea what it could be, but whatever it is, it isn’t good. But…” Her face had suddenly darkened, as if she had thought of something else. “I might have an idea what it can be. But I am praying to the Gods that I am wrong. If it isn’t, we are as good as dead.” And with that worrying response, she ran off.

* * *

“What was that?” A voice reached Marinette’s ears. She had just entered the room a couple of minutes ago, and was in the process of pulling out some more comfortable clothes to change into out of her suitcases. Perhaps a sweatshirt and sweatpants.

“What was what?” She asked, without looking up.

“The deal with Almeada! What did you want to tell her you couldn’t tell me?”

Marinette sighed. She should have seen this coming. “There was just something Gabriel said that I found a little odd. I was just telling Almeada about it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It wasn’t anything very important. At least, I didn’t think so. I told her just in case it made sense to her, because it didn’t to me.”

“And did it?” Adrien asked.

“I don’t know.”


	13. Attack in New York

The door burst open, interrupting Leo, who was loudly fawning over Festus, his pet bronze dragon. In came Almeada, her hair wild and eyes looking harrowed.

They were in Bunker Nine, everyone was here, the only exception was Almeada.

“We’re dead.” She announced, tossing a file of papers on a nearby table. “We are so, so dead.”

“What is it?” Piper asked, looking up from where Jason was sketching something on a piece of paper.

“It’s Salma. She’s dead too.” Almeada replied, sinking into a nearby armchair and looking like she was about to cry.

Silence. Utter silence.

It looked like Marinette and Adrien were the only ones who did not know who this Salma person was. Hazel walked over to her, and sat down on the armchair beside her. Snaking an arm around her shoulders, she pulled her to herself, and hugged her.

“I am sorry.” Frank started. “When did this happen?”

“I don’t know.” Almeada answered, barely managing to keep herself from crying. “I hadn’t talked to her for a long time, since Sam…” She didn’t say the word died, but everyone knew what she was talking about. “Anyways, I was calling her today, after Marinette told me something, and she didn’t pick up. I tried again, but I kept reaching her voicemail. I waited for an hour, to see if she was busy, and then called her again. Nothing.” She sniffed, tears running down her face. “Then I called her roommate, who picked up and told me that she-” Almeada seemed unable to go any further. “She told me that Salma had been…. Murdered.” She broke down.

Adrien sympathised with her. He was surprised that she had been able to hold out for so long. But he still didn’t know who this Salma person was. It didn’t seem like a good time to ask.

Almeada continued crying for some time, with Hazel rubbing her back and comforting her.

“Anyways,” Almeada spoke again after a quarter of an hour. “The worst isn’t over yet. He has her miraculous.” A pause. “Hawkmoth has the Pegasus Miraculous as well.”

A lightbulb went off in Adrien’s head. Seemed like Marinette realised it too, as she turned to him, her eyes wide.

Adrien knew what she was thinking. The mention of the pegasus miraculous had sparked a memory, one from many years ago.

They had met Salma once. But she had been introduced to Ladybug and Cat Noir as Sequoia, who had been called to help them out with a particularly tricky villain, who had been bent on destroying Paris by growing trees everywhere. Samirah had introduced her as her sister, but Adrien never really thought about her again.

Until now.

Galaxy had once explained the hierarchy of the kwamis, based on the powers they had. Pegasus had been the next on the list, after the Thunderbird.

So of course, it wasn’t good that Hawkmoth had both the most powerful miraculouses in the universe.

Then, a bunch of questions crowded Adrien’s mind. He knew that it wasn’t a good time to ask them, but that didn’t stop his mouth from blurting one of its own accord. “If he has both the miraculouses, what does he need ours for? Can’t he get mom- _ his wife _ from those?”

Almeada looked up at him, and shook her head slowly. “No.” She croaked out. She cleared her throat and tried again, her voice coming out much stronger than before. “No. The miraculouses don’t work like yours. They cannot be united with each other, and they don’t grant wishes. I think that the only reason that Gabriel has the miraculouses is that he hopes it will be easier to defeat you if he does.”

Adrien let this sink in. He had just just opened his mouth to ask what she thought he had done with the pegasus miraculous, when an extremely high pitched screech made them all cringe and clap their hands to their ears.

“What in the world was that?!” Marinette exclaimed, lowering her hands.

Almeada jumped out of her chair and ran to a nearby console. “Yes! The bugs are online!” She exclaimed. She waved everyone over. 

There wasn’t any video, but it was clear what they were talking about.

“ Natalie! Avez-vous déjà compris comment le faire fonctionner? ” Gabriel’s booming voice came out of the speaker, quite louder than expected. Almeada winced, then bent over and flipped a switch.

“No sir.” Natalie sounded frustrated. “This infernal kwami is refusing to cooperate! I can’t unite them!”

Well, this at least answered one of Adrien’s questions. Hawkmoth had given the Pegasus miraculous to Natalie, who was trying to unite it with the peacock one. From what he understood, she wasn’t having much luck.

“I was afraid this might happen.” Gabriel’s voice crackled out again. “I was hoping we would not have to coerce them, as it lessens their power that what it would be if they united of their own free will, but it has now left me no choice.” Faint footsteps were now heard, and then a minute later, the noise shut off completely.

Almeada didn’t seem perturbed. She simply entered a few lines of code into the monitor, and turned around to face them.

“What happened?” Adrien asked.

“They probably entered a bug-proofed room or something.” Leo replied, not sounding particularly worried. Instead, he was looking at Almeada, whose face was quite ashen.

“They are going to force it into uniting.” She whispered. “And I can’t do anything.”

Everyone looked at her in sympathy. They knew that she was a very affectionate person, and she couldn’t bear anything getting hurt if they did not deserve it.

Jason looked like he wanted to say something comforting to her, but didn’t have the words. Before he started, however, a monitor switched on a few feet away from them, cutting him off. A news channel was on it.

The reporter was speaking about an attack, something really odd that had never happened before. The words were difficult to make out, as most of the sentences were cut off by loud gusts of wind.

The reporter didn’t know what was happening, but the people in Bunker 9 did.

An akuma attack.

In New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations  
> Avez-vous déjà trouvé comment le faire fonctionner?- Have you figured out how to make it work yet?  
> I used google translate for this, so I am not sure if this is correct.   
> Leave Kudos and comments! I would love to hear what you think!


End file.
